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Liberty-class (Phoenix Rising)
*Type-II Armored Assault Ship *Type-III Armored Assault Ship |namesake = |ships of the line = *Liberty (MUS-1001) *Independence (MUS-1002) *Freedom (MUS-1003) |launched = March 10, P.D. 327 |operators = Martian Self Defense Forces |known commanders = |length = 385 meters long |power plant = Ahab Reactor |armaments = *5 x Type-XXXIV Anti-Ship Cannons *4 x Type-XL 35mm Close In Machine Gun Turrets *9 x Mark-51 Torpedo Tubes|armour = Nanolaminated Armor|mobile weapons = * 6 x Mobile Suits (STH-05 Hyakurens, or AEB-06M Hoelkk Graze) * 10 x Mobile Workers (TK-57s Aries, or KO-79 Laborers) * 1 x JEE-M103 Kutan Type-III * 3 x JEE-M101 Kutan Type-Is |universe = Post Disaster |system features = *2 x Series/2E Multi-Launchers *Expanded Hangar and Catapult}} The Liberty-class Armored Assault Ships are the main space combat ships of the new Martian Self Defense Forces. They are heavily based on the TIR-0009 Hammerhead of the Turbines Transport Group of Teiwaz. Technology & Combat Characteristics While the Liberty-class does look quite similar to the earlier Hammerhead on the outside, internally it is quite a different beast. For one, it was designed primarily as a military combat ship instead of a hybrid of combat ship and transport that all Armored Assault Ships happen to be. The ship's hangar has been completely redesigned and expanded allowing the ships of the class to carry an even six mobile suits plus ten mobile workers for secondary combat and non-combat duties. Also, a new catapult is included with the design, which all together allows for far superior mobile suit handling capabilities. Then the weapons of the ships have been completely rebuilt to better contend with other modern-day military weapons. The main guns have been replaced with new Type-XXXIV Guns and the close-in machine guns have been replaced with Type-XL 35mm guns along with an extra pair of guns as well. Then finally the Liberty-class ships sport around double the number of torpedo launchers on a typical Type-III Armored Assault Ship along with some minor upgrades to said launch tubes. Overall, the Liberty-class ships were made to be the main ships-of-line for the new Martian Self Defense Forces. While they are based heavily on the common Type-III Armored Assault Ship they have become something far better in the end. Armaments *'Type-XXXIV Anti-Ship Cannons' :The Type-XXXIV Anti-Ship Cannons are heavily based on the Type-XXXII Canons favored by Gjallarhorn for their Halfbeak ''Class Cruisers just slightly smaller and molded into a type Type-III Armored Assault Ship Series/3A Cannon Turret. Therefore, thanks to this their performance is quite similar to the Type-XXXII but having the capabilities of the Series/3A cannons. Also, these cannons are quite modular in their ammo choice where they can fire not only standard 'slug' rounds for general anti-ship combat, they also can fire heavy flak rounds for use in combating attacking enemy mobile suits, flash-bomb rounds to blind enemy sight and sensors, and finally a new High Explosive Round to better combat enemy ships. *'Type-XL 35mm Close-In Machine Guns''' :The new Type-XL 35mm machine guns are something a bit different from the Series/1C guns on a typical Type-III Armored Assault Ship. Even more so then the Type-XXXVII Machine Guns on the Halfbeak-class ships of Gjallarhorn. For one, their firing speed has been vastly upgraded allowing better defense against attacking mobile suits when combined with the ability to fire Flak Charges from the ship's main guns. To achieve this the barrels of these guns are made out of pure Martian Half-Metal preventing said barrels from melting due to the firing speed. The Liberty-class also sports an extra pair of machine gun turrets, one underneath the ship's aft 'fin' and the second underneath the ship's 'hammerhead' right in front of the hangar. This allows for a superior close-in defense of the ship with a machine gun turret covering almost any angle from which an attacking mobile suit would use. *'Mark-51 Torpedo Tubes' :The ship's torpedo tubes are still standard Mark-51 Torpedo Tubes, found on Type-III Armored Assault Ships, but the Liberty-class sports over twice the amount of tubes on a Type-III. Also included is a single aft-mounted torpedo tube in the ship's back-mounted 'fin' allowing to launch torpedoes to the ship's aft along with the regular forward-facing tubes. Unlike, the new main guns these tubes are not modular therefore can only fire regular Mark-50 Series Torpedos. However, these tubes still sport some modifications, including new auto-loaders to allow faster reload speed, larger ammo magazine, and a completely rebuilt launch system to allow a faster firing. Ships of the Line ;*MUS-1001 Liberty '' :The ''Liberty ''is the lead ship of the class and therefore is said to be the flagship of the entire Martian Self Defense Force, which does mean it is often used by the Martian Union to show the flag a bit to other powers. This included the signing of the Human Debris Abolishment Treaty in August of P.D. 330 which had the ''Liberty transport Mars Union Chairman Kudelia Aina Bernstein to Earth for the signing and back to Mars. ;*MUS-1002 Independence :The Independence ''is the second ship of the class and the only one of the three to have been a smaller Type-II Armored Assault Ship before its conversion. While the conversion did extend the ship a bit from its still ten meters shorter than its two sister ships. It becomes notable when during a patrol in November of P.D. 330 the ''Independence intercepted and captured a transport carrying numerous Human Debris, in gross violation of the brand-new Human Debris Abolishment Treaty. ;*MUS-1003 Freedom '' :The ''Freedom ''is the third and final ship of the class and sports a slight different catapult system then the rest of the class. The mobile suit catapult on the ''Freedom while similar to those catapults on the other ships of the class is different in that it can be extended when it is needed instead of being fixed in place. The Freedom also sports an extra Machine Gun Turret on top of the ship's 'Hammerhead' which allows a slightly better defense. History When the Martian Union was formed after the Economic Blocs and Gjallarhorn pulled themselves from Mars the Union knew it needed their own defense forces to protect Mars and its space. Especially with a rise in pirate activity around the Asteroid Belt and the various debris-ladened Shoal Zones in the Mars Sphere. While the newly formed Martian Self Defense Force easily managed to muster a sizable planetbound infantry and combat Mobile Worker force they were kind of lacking in space combat capable ships to patrol the Maritan Space. This was solved quite easily when an inquiry from Martian Self Defense Force commander, Marshall Shaft Zent about the three Armored Assault Ships being held at Hakobane High Orbital Station to Chairwoman Bernstein's office. These three ships formerly part of the Dawn Horizon Pirate Corps before they were captured by the combined Tekkadan and Gjallarhorn's assault on the large pirate group. The other captured ships and equipment had all been sold-off months before but these three ships remained under the tentative ownership of Tekkadan. Now with Tekkadan disbanded the ownership of these ships were in limbo which was soon solved when the Martian Union government took control of them soon after Marshall Zent's inquiry. These three ships soon were pulled from Hakobane Station and moved to the new Phobos Orbital Dock where they would undergo a through modification and upgrade program. This program would draw on combat data gathered by Tekkadan, Teiwaz, and other users of the Armored Assault Ships over the past fifty years allowing for a far superior combat ship over the regular Armored Assault Ships. During the course of the program, it was decided by Chairwoman Bernstein to have the ships based on the Hammerhead as a sort of memorial to the Turbines which helped Mars, and herself, several times in the past. This modification and upgrade program for the ship would last three months and see the ships become more then just simple civilian-run Armored Assault Ships. Thanks to the gathered battle data, and opinions from several former crewmembers of Armored Assault Ships not to mention the thoughts on a few former members of Gjallarhorn who joined the Martian Self Defense Force would truely make these ships warships. The large cargo bays that made up the 'fin' of the ships where completely re-purposed for other purposes including dedicated crew barracks, smaller cargo bays, mobile worker hangar, and other notable additions. The ship's main hull was pretty much left alone besides adding further armor panels around the front of the ship and the expanding of the mobile suit hangar. All told these changes to the design would allow a single Liberty-class ship to be capable of standing up against a few other smaller Armored Assault Ships and even a single Gjallarhorn Halfbeak-class Cruiser. Finally a few months later would see the three ships of the class be launched from Phobos and commissioned into the Martian Self Defense Force on March 10, P.D. 327 a year after the formation of the Martian Union was finalized. The commissioning ceremony for the three ships would be attended by numerous notable figures in the Union along with the other major powers including McMurdo Barriston, Chairman of Teiwaz, Togonosuke Makanai, Prime Minister of Arbrau, and Gallus Bauduin, former member of the Seven Stars of Gjallarhorn. The three ships of the Liberty-class would go on to have successful careers in the Martian Self Defense Forces and while other ships would be commissioned into MSDF the Liberty-class would remain as vaulted defenders of Mars for many years. Appearances From The Ashes During a few of the shorts included in this overall larger story the Liberty-class are either center-stage, including one story following the commissioning ceremony of the ships, and take up minor roles in others similar to the later Phoenix Rising story. Phoenix Rising The Liberty-class ships have a minor part in this story and are mentioned several times throughout the story. A few scenes have them in the background often seen out on patrol. They later join a large fleet assaulting pirate strongholds in a few of the Shoal Zones. Trivia & Notes *The image featured on this site is a custom edited image by Bryant Molirse of the Mechatalk Forums done at this author's request. External Links * page on Gundam Wikia Category:Armored Assault Ship Category:Warships